Obtaining unemployment benefits in a lump sum can be an interesting option for trying out self-employment. This process is called unemployment capitalisation and to obtain it, the purpose of the investment must be justified, which must be exclusively business-related.
What is the main objective of being able to capitalize unemployment?
According to the State Public Employment Service ( SEPE ), it is to promote and facilitate self-employment initiatives among people who are receiving contributory unemployment benefits and who intend to:
Join an already established cooperative or labor society.
Becoming self-employed . Those who are economically dependent are exempt by signing a contract with a company with which they had a contractual relationship immediately prior to the legal unemployment situation or which belongs to the same business group as that company.
Allocating the money to a contribution to the share capital of a newly created business entity or one created within a maximum period of 12 months prior to the contribution. This reason applies “as long as the effective control of the company is to be held, a professional activity is to be carried out in it and the company is registered with Social Security in the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers or in the Special Regime for Sea Workers”.
What requirements must be met to request unemployment benefit capitalization?
The first thing that the SEPE requires in order to capitalize unemployment benefits is to be a beneficiary of a contributory unemployment benefit and to have at least three monthly payments pending on the date of requesting the single payment. Beneficiaries of the benefit for cessation of activity must have at least six months pending receipt.
Not having collected the single payment
In any of its forms, in the four immediately preceding years.
Start the activity within a maximum period of one month.
This period would count from the resolution granting the single payment, and always on a date after the request.
Not having open procedures
If the termination of the employment relationship that gave rise to unemployment benefits has been challenged before the social jurisdiction, the application for the lump sum payment must be made after the procedure has been resolved.
Not having combined self-employment and benefits
Those who have combined self-employment with contributory unemployment benefits in the 24 months prior to applying for the lump sum payment will not be entitled to receive the lump sum payment.
Having passed probationary periods
If the self-employed person is registered in a cooperative and its bylaws provide for the possibility that members may have to pass a trial period, they must have passed said period.
Where and how do I apply for unemployment benefits?
The SEPE makes its website available to those interested in lebanon phone number search capitalising unemployment benefits, but it can also be processed at the benefits offices with an appointment, at any public registry office or also by administrative mail.
It should be noted that the date of the application must be prior to the date of incorporation into the cooperative or labour society or the date of commencement of the activity as a self-employed person or as a partner of the commercial entity.
When submitting the application, a report on the activity to be carried out and details of the planned investments must be provided. VAT is not eligible for subsidy, so these documents should not include it.
You can download the application for a single payment of the contributory benefit and the necessary forms from the website of the State Public Employment Service (SEPE), accessing from this link, where you have the single payment form , an information sheet with all the details and a template for submitting the report.
Conditions to take into account
Apart from the requirements already mentioned above, there are other aspects that should be taken into account:
Justify the purpose of the investment with a report.
Its preparation is essential in all cases except when it involves incorporation into already established cooperatives.
Maximum registration period for RETA
When you carry out an activity as a self-employed person, you must register within a maximum period of one month in the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers, which may be extended for another month.
Working partners in case of cooperatives
When applying to become a member of a cooperative or a labour society, this request must be justified as a way of becoming a stable working member. It is not valid to act as a capitalist member, because in reality this measure is intended to promote self-employment .
Time to disburse contributions in cooperatives
If at the time of the application, the worker was part of a previously established cooperative or worker-owned company and had already made the necessary payment to acquire membership status, but the activity had not yet begun and the workers were not registered with Social Security, he or she will only be able to obtain the single payment for the membership fee subsidy.
Having completely ceased previous employment relationships
The employment relationship must have ceased completely, so it will not be granted to those who are awaiting a judicial decision on whether or not to continue in the company.
Refund of payment
In the event that the activity is stopped without justification or too early, the SEPE may request the return of the single payment. It is advisable to keep all documentation that proves the justification for the closure, because although there is no deadline for maintaining the activity, a closure must be able to be justified in the event of an inspection.
Taxation